Award-winning gemstone artist Dalan Hargrave has been a tremendous advocate of Australian opal in the United States.

Hargrave does not seem to be limited to the conventional constraints that some artists feel obliged to follow which is evident from the number of prestigious awards he has received. He began cutting gemstones in 1998 and has since received numerous Spectrum and Cutting Edge Awards (22 in total with 3 Best of Show) from the American Gem Trade Association. 

Back in 1999, Steve Koncz – an opal cutter and wholesaler, was thinking about the great lengths jewellers go to combine  various gems with pearls to try to come up with new and attractive ideas to create items of jewellery. This is when the idea of PearlOpal was born.